


Cosmic Disaster

by arysa13



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Birthday Party, Confessions, Drama, Drinking Games, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 05:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13265007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arysa13/pseuds/arysa13
Summary: With both couples reunited, Veronica plans a quiet weekend away for Archie's birthday. But then Cheryl shows up and decides to cause some drama.





	Cosmic Disaster

Ever since Archie and Veronica got back together, Betty has noticed Veronica has constantly been going to extra mile to be the perfect girlfriend to Archie.

And it’s not that that’s a bad thing, but Betty wonders how long it can honestly last. Is it just Veronica’s lasting guilt that keeps her fussing over Archie constantly, or has she really changed for good? Betty can’t help but roll her eyes a little every time V brings Archie his favourite food or gushes over his music. It’s a little sickening to be honest, not that she’d ever tell Veronica that.

Besides, now that she’s back with Jughead, Betty has her own relationship to worry about. She wonders if she caved too easily when Jughead suggested they get back together, but she couldn’t really think of a reason to say no. Sure, they have their issues, but she loves him and if he’s willing to work on them then so is she.

Still, despite the four of them all being back on good terms, Betty can’t help but feel like Veronica’s idea for Archie’s birthday is a bad one, and she says as much to Jughead.

“Don’t you think we should just throw Archie a party here instead? And invite everyone from school?” Betty asks him as the two of them sit on her bed, having snuck past Alice. (She’d been warming up to the idea of Betty and Jughead, but now she’s firmly against it again.)

“Like the party you threw me, you mean? Or the party we threw my dad?” Jughead snorts and Betty flinches, remembering those disasters. Jughead notices and reaches for her hand. “I’m sorry,” he tells her. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.”

“I know.”

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter what your opinion on the matter is,” Jughead says. “Veronica is his girlfriend, so it’s up to her, not you.”

“Shouldn’t it be up to Archie?” Betty points out.

“Has he said something to you about it?” Jughead asks. Betty shakes her head. “Then I’m sure he’s fine with it. Besides, after what we all went through with the Black Hood, it’ll be good to get away for the weekend, just the four of us. Some serious bonding time,” he smiles, which he doesn’t seem to do that much of anymore, so Betty smiles back, despite her unfounded reservations. She also doesn’t remind him that it was her and Archie that the Black Hood affected the most, and that Jughead doesn’t really have any idea what it was like.

“I guess you’re right,” Betty says. She’s not sure why she’s so against this trip anyway. Veronica has put a lot of effort in, convincing her parents to rent out a lake house for them about a half hour drive away, and then convincing Fred and Alice to let Betty and Archie come. The point that she’d really driven home was that it would be just the four of them and that there would be no alcohol or drugs. Alice had finally caved, but with the warning that if another one of her daughters got pregnant, Jughead was a dead man. Betty has no doubt she means it.

So, with no reasonable objections, three days later Betty climbs into the backseat of Veronica’s new car, and the four of them head towards the rented lake house.

The drive there should fly by, and the conversation should flow easily, but it feels stilted and awkward to Betty. Veronica doesn’t seem to notice, and Betty can’t seem to make eye contact with Archie to see how he feels. But eventually the car trip is over, and they’re grabbing their bags from the car and carrying them into the house. Only, it’s more like a mansion than a house, because of course this is the kind of place Veronica would choose.

“V, you do realise there are only four of us?” Betty points out as Veronica unlocks the front door.

“More choice of bedrooms,” Veronica grins, pushing the door open. “What do you think, Archiekins?”

“Looks great, Ronnie,” Archie tells her, following her inside. Betty rolls her eyes and Jughead raises his eyebrows at her.

Veronica declares Archie gets first pick of the bedrooms, which works in her favour since they’ll be sharing a room, and Betty and Jughead pick the second nicest room out of the six bedrooms. Which, considering all the rooms are actually amazing, the second-best room is still pure luxury.

“What’s up with you?” Jughead asks once the two of them are alone. “Did you and Veronica have a fight or something?”

“No, why would you think that?” Betty asks as she dumps her bag at the foot of the bed.

“Seems like everything she does annoys you,” Jughead notes.

“I just think she could stand to be a little less extravagant sometimes,” Betty shrugs. “Do we really need six bedrooms for four people?”

“She’s just trying to do something nice for her boyfriend,” Jughead shrugs.

“Yeah, I know,” Betty sighs. Somehow, that’s what irks her. She can’t say that to Jughead, however. Because her feelings are totally irrational, and Jughead might read into them, might think that her feelings for Archie have reappeared. And they might have, just a little bit. If they ever even really went away.

And that’s also why she can never tell Jughead about the kiss. Because even though it happened while they were broken up, Jughead would get all weird and jealous about it, no matter how much Betty assured him it was nothing. (Was it nothing?)

She hasn’t even talked to Archie about it. They’ve talked about that night a lot, about the terrifying things they’d gone through when faced with the Black Hood, knowing it was better to talk about it than to keep it bottled up. And both of them feel their partners could never quite understand it.

They’ve discussed everything about that night, except the kiss. Betty had intended to, really. Just to clear the air. Assure Archie that she didn’t mean anything by it, that he doesn’t have to feel bad for kissing her back. She’s not expecting anything from him. But Archie was back with Veronica before she could bring it up, and it seemed like nothing needed to be said. They have an unspoken agreement that their significant others will never find out.

It doesn’t stop her thinking about it though, her fingers tracing over her lips in the dead of night as she closes her eyes and reconjures the moment in her mind. She wonders if Archie ever thinks about it too, or whether he’s already forgotten the pressure of her lips against his. It would take a miracle for Betty to forget.

“Let’s just go and see what Veronica has planned for us,” Betty says, and Jughead nods and follows her downstairs.

The afternoon is waning, and it’s too cold to go swimming in the lake, so Veronica decides they should watch a movie and then cook dinner. Except Veronica has no idea how to cook for herself, so it’s up to the other three to make dinner, while Veronica pulls out a bottle of wine and pours four glasses.

“Uh, Veronica, you told my mom there wasn’t going to be alcohol,” Betty reminds her.

“It’s just one glass of wine, Betty,” Veronica says. “Your mom never has to know.”

Betty takes her glass, but only sips at it occasionally, barely making a dent. After dinner, Veronica puts _Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince_ on.

“I thought Lavender and Ron made a cute couple,” Veronica muses.

“Are you insane?” Betty scoffs. “Lavender and Ron had nothing in common. And she called him _Won Won,_ ” she points out in disgust. It’s something akin to Veronica’s own _Archiekins,_ which also makes Betty nauseous.

“That’s cute!” Veronica insists.

“No way, Ron and Hermione for life,” Betty says. “Right, Arch?”

“Definitely,” Archie agrees.

“Like Ron and Hermione had _so_ much in common,” Veronica snorts. “Maybe it should have been Hermione and Krum.”

“I think it should’ve been Hermione and Harry,” Jughead interjects.

“Guys, you can’t just decide that your own opinions are better than what JK Rowling wrote,” Betty says.

“Maybe she wrote it wrong,” Veronica says. “Look, now Hermione’s crying. Harry never made her cry.”

“He made Cho cry though. And probably Ginny.”

“Cho was crying about Cedric!”

“Can we just watch the movie?” Archie says, and the girls fall silent. The rest of the movie is watched in relative silence, and it’s just drawing to a close when the four of them hear a car approaching the house.

“Did you guys hear that?” Betty asks, sitting up, wondering if it’s her imagination. Veronica nods, however, also looking concerned.

“Who else did you invite?” Archie asks. Veronica shakes her head in confusion.

“Nobody,” she says firmly. The four of them look at each other, wondering who could possibly be dropping by at this time of night.

“Maybe it’s one of our parents,” Betty suggests. “Did anyone else even know we were coming?”

“I mean, it wasn’t a secret, but I also didn’t go around announcing it,” Veronica says.

“Maybe it’s an axe murderer,” Jughead grins. Betty shoves him lightly. So not the time to joke about this. It could very well be an axe murderer for all they know.

Veronica switches off the TV and the four of them watch the door, listening intently to whoever is walking up the front steps. Betty can hear voices, laughing, and someone shrieks joyfully. One voice is especially distinct.

“It kind of sounds like-,” Betty starts. The door bursts open.

“Did you think you could have a party without moi?” Cheryl demands, posing in the doorway, her red thigh high boots accentuating her long white legs. She struts inside and is closely followed by Kevin, Josie, Reggie, Valerie, and Melody. Each of them is holding at least one bottle of alcohol.

“Um,” Veronica says, standing up. “Hi guys. What are you doing here?”

“It’s Archie’s birthday,” Cheryl says, as if the four of them have forgotten. “We wanted to help him celebrate. And since we weren’t _invited,_ we decided to crash. Give him his birthday presents, people!”

Archie stands up, and Cheryl’s minions for the night crowd around him, hugging him and handing him bottles.

“Looks like you all needed us to liven this party up anyway,” Cheryl shrugs. She makes eye contact with Betty, and Betty knows this can only mean bad news. “Shall we start the drinking games?”

-

Betty tries to exclude herself from the drinking games, but Veronica and Cheryl aren’t having any of it.

“You don’t have to drink the hard liquor,” Veronica tells her. “You can just have the wine I bought.”

“It’s Archie’s birthday,” Cheryl pouts. “You don’t want to ruin his birthday, do you?”

Even Jughead tries to convince her. “It’s just a bit of fun, Betty.”

Betty looks to Archie and he rolls his eyes at Cheryl’s antics. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” he assures her, and in the end it’s his comment that makes her decide to play.

“Okay! Who’s ready for Never Have I Ever? You have to be, because I said so,” Cheryl announces.

Cheryl, Veronica and Kevin all quickly make sure everyone has drinks. Veronica shoves a very full glass of wine into Betty’s hands, despite the fact that she never even finished the first one.

“Lighten up, B,” Veronica winks. “What’s with you lately?”

Betty takes the drink and forces a smile.

The party of ten make themselves comfortable in the large living room, scattered on the floor and on the lounge chairs in a haphazard attempt at a circle. Veronica plonks herself indelicately on Archie’s lap, and Betty has to look away. Jughead, beside her, takes her free hand, almost as if he notices her reaction.

“Who starts?” Josie asks.

“I’ll start!” Reggie volunteers.

“I think the birthday boy should start,” Cheryl says sweetly, though even Cheryl’s sweetest voice wouldn’t convince even the most gullible of people. Betty is sure she’s up to something, and even if she’s not, any idea of Cheryl’s is bound to end in incomparable drama.

“Alright,” Archie agrees, though he looks somewhat nervous, as if he too suspects Cheryl of something devious. “Never have I ever… had sex with a guy.”

“Cop out!” Veronica hits him lightly as she takes a drink. Betty’s hand tightens around her glass but she doesn’t bring it to her lips. She can feel Archie’s eyes on her, though she’s pretty sure he already knows she and Jughead haven’t had sex yet. Betty expects a slew of comments about her sex life, or lack of thereof, but in truth no one else is watching her, because they’re all paying more attention to Cheryl.

“Cheryl, really?” Veronica practically squeals. “You’re a virgin?”

“As if I’d really have sex with any of the idiot boys we go to school with?” Cheryl says haughtily. “Gross, no thank you. I’m saving myself for a higher class of person.”

“I respect that,” Valerie says, and Veronica and Melody nod in agreement.

“I’ll take your virginity if you want, Cheryl,” Reggie grins.

“Does this Neanderthal ever listen to a thing I say?”

“He listened when you said we were going to a party,” Josie points out.

“Hey, I listen!” Reggie says, offended.

“Will the next person just go?” Cheryl huffs.

“Never have I ever…” Veronica begins loudly, “broken a bone.”

“Lame!” Reggie shouts, before he takes a large gulp from his cup. “Can we get some good confessions please?”  

“My turn!” Cheryl declares. “Never have I ever…” she pauses for dramatic effect. “Kissed Betty.”

“Any Betty? Or this specific Betty?” Reggie asks.

“How many Betty’s do you know?” Josie rolls her eyes.

“Does on the cheek count?” Kevin chimes in.

“This Betty. On the cheek doesn’t count!” Cheryl clarifies. Archie meets Betty’s eyes as he drinks. Of course, they’re the only ones who know just how recently he’s kissed her. Veronica and Jughead also tag a swig.

“Mel, your turn,” Veronica prompts.

“Hold on one moment,” Cheryl says, holding up a hand. “Archie and Betty kissed and no one cares?”

“Well, it was like a million years ago,” Veronica points out, clearly confused as to why _Cheryl_ seems to care. Betty swallows. What is Cheryl playing at? Does she know something she shouldn’t? Betty manages to convince herself she’s just being paranoid.

“Yeah, we were like… eight,” Archie confirms, his eyes quickly darting back to Betty. She looks to the floor.

“Of course you were,” Cheryl rolls her eyes.

“Never have I ever…” Melody starts.

“I’ve had enough of this game,” Cheryl interrupts. “Let’s play truth or dare instead.”

“I pick dare!” Reggie yells. Cheryl ignores him.

“Here are the rules. Someone spins a bottle. Whoever it lands on gets to pick the dare or the truth. If the person doesn’t think of a dare or a truth quick enough, I’ll make it up myself,” Cheryl says. She grabs a nearby empty bottle of wine, sets it in front of her and spins. It points towards the chair Archie and Veronica are both sitting on.

“Ooh, can I do it? You can do the next one,” Veronica promises Archie with a kiss.

“I pick truth,” Cheryl says.

“Okay… have you ever stolen something?”

“Yes, next,” Cheryl says, handing the bottle to Veronica. “We’re going anti clockwise this time,” she says to an annoyed looking Melody.

Veronica leans down to spin the bottle. It lands on Kevin.

“Dare,” Veronica says.

“I dare you to take your bra off and wear it on the outside of your clothes,” Kevin says. Veronica snorts, and does the dare with complete ease and not a hint of embarrassment.

“Archie?” Cheryl prompts, using her “sweet” voice again. Betty regards her carefully as Archie spins the bottle. It lands on Cheryl, and Cheryl looks only too delighted, much to Betty’s anxious and racing mind.

“Archie?”

“Truth, I guess,” Archie shrugs and Betty can feel her heart pounding in her ears as Cheryl’s smile grows wider.

“How many people in this room have you kissed… in the last year?” Cheryl says, smirking wickedly. Archie swallows visibly. Betty wills him to lie. It’s just a game, no one has to know it’s a lie. Except Betty is getting surer by the moment that Cheryl knows. How she knows, Betty has no idea, only that she’s playing some sick game with the two of them.

Archie looks panicked.

“It’s not fair to make him do math,” Reggie interjects. “Let’s just say he’s kissed half of the population and be done with it. Is it my turn yet?”

Surprisingly, Cheryl shrugs and lets Reggie take the bottle. Betty breathes a sigh of relief. Perhaps she is being paranoid after all. Cheryl probably doesn’t know anything.

Betty barely pays attention to the people who spin the bottle between Archie and herself. The bottle lands on her once, but she misses her chance to give a dare to Josie, and Cheryl chimes in, daring Josie to kiss the person in the room she thinks is the hottest. Josie kisses Reggie, much to his delight, and suddenly it’s Betty’s turn.

Cheryl narrows her eyes. She’s looking sulky, as if the game isn’t going quite the way she planned. Betty spins the bottle. Somehow, by some cosmic disaster, the bottle lands on Cheryl. Cheryl raises her eyebrows in a challenge.

“Dare,” Betty says, trying not to sound as nervous as she feels. Better to take the safe option, in case Cheryl really does know something about her kiss with Archie. Still, who knows what Cheryl has in store for her.

“Kiss. Archie.”

Betty’s stomach drops. Jughead stiffens beside her.

It’s more savage than Betty could have predicted. She knows she can’t do it. Knows she _won’t_ do it. And yet, part of her wants to.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Kiss Archie. And make sure it’s on the lips. With lots of tongue.”

“Cheryl…” Betty starts.

“Don’t you think that’s a little far, Cheryl? She’s not going to kiss my boyfriend,” Veronica snorts.

“Besides, she has a boyfriend of her own,” Jughead reminds the group. Archie remains conspicuously silent.

“It’s just a game,” Cheryl points out. “Just one kiss. Or are you afraid they’ll both like it too much?”

Betty’s face burns. She can’t look at Veronica or Jughead.

“Of course not,” Veronica laughs, but it rings hollow, betraying her insecurity. Jughead’s broody silence beside her, his mouth set in a firm line suggests he has similar feelings. Betty can’t do this to her either of them.

“That’s the dare,” Cheryl shrugs. “Or if you don’t like it, you can change to truth.”

Betty glances at Archie. He won’t meet her eye. She looks back at Cheryl. Cheryl raises an eyebrow in challenge.

“Fine,” Betty swallows. “I’ll change to truth,” she says, already knowing this option isn’t going to be much better. Cheryl smiles, a wicked smile that turns Betty’s blood cold.

“Betty Cooper,” Cheryl starts. She surveys the room, making sure everyone is listening. Betty feels her skin start to itch. “Who was the last person you kissed last year?”

She should lie. She should quickly blurt out _Jughead_ and be done with it. Would Cheryl really try to disagree with her?

But then she’s paused too long, the silence is too awkward, too uncomfortable.

“Betty?” Cheryl prompts.

“Jughead,” Veronica supplies. “Right, Betty?” But she doesn’t sound convinced. Perhaps she’s putting all Cheryl’s overly direct questions together, figuring out the truth. Meanwhile, Betty’s mouth opens and shuts like a goldfish, words evading her like they’ve never evaded her before.

“Oh my god,” Kevin says excitedly. “Did you have a rebound fling?”

“No!” Betty says vehemently, her brain finally connecting to her mouth. She can no longer feel Jughead’s hand in her own, though she can’t place when he moved it. Or did she move it?

“But you kissed someone that wasn’t Jughead?” Veronica asks.

“It was just one kiss,” Betty says helplessly. She looks to Archie, searching for support, but she knows instantly it’s a mistake. They share a look, and she doesn’t even know what she’s trying to tell him, what he’s trying to tell her, but with all eyes on her, it doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Archie…” Betty says softly, and she’s not sure if she’s answering the question, or just begging him to say something. In either case, it solidifies the truth in everyone’s minds, casting a thick silence over the room. Veronica stands up abruptly, her face wrought with angry disbelief.

“When?” she asks.

“V…” Betty starts.

“ _When_?” she hisses, her eyes snapping to Betty, full of betrayal. Betty flinches.

“A couple of nights before Christmas,” Archie supplies, finally speaking. “We were broken up, they were broken up.”

“It was just a kiss,” Betty says again. “It didn’t mean anything.” She looks to Jughead for the first time since the confession. His face is stone cold, his eyes full of hurt. Guilt pools in Betty’s stomach, tears well in her eyes, and she can’t think of a single thing to say.

“How could you?” Jughead says.

“How could both of you?” Veronica repeats, louder. “You tell me you love me and then three days later you’re making out with Betty?”

“Ronnie…” Archie tries, clearly uncomfortable with having this conversation in front of all their friends. To their credit, they’re silent, but they all seem to be enjoying the show.

“You know what? This party has suddenly become very not-fun. I’m going to bed,” Veronica says, probably also realising this isn’t the best place to yell at her boyfriend. “Cheryl, you’re sleeping with me tonight. Some people aren’t welcome in my bed.”

She gives Archie a scorching look that implies she’s not done being angry, and storms upstairs towards the bedrooms.

“Jug…” Betty says, her voice cracking. “Can we go outside and talk about this?”

“I always knew you’d go back to Archie eventually,” he says, his words like a punch in the stomach. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Jughead stands up, shaking his head, following Veronica upstairs, shaking his head. Betty considers going after him, but decides against it, knowing it’s just going to end in a fight. Better to leave it until morning when he’s had time to cool off.

“Are you happy now?” she spits at Cheryl instead.

“I’m satisfied,” Cheryl shrugs.

“You’re a real piece of work, Cheryl,” Archie growls.

“Hey, I was just trying to get the truth out there. You were the ones lying to your friends,” Cheryl simpers.

“Oh, you’re such a saint, Cheryl,” Betty bites. Cheryl purses her lips.

“Perhaps we all should go to bed,” Val suggests.

“It is pretty late,” Josie agrees.

Betty swallows all the other hateful things she wants to say to Cheryl.

“There are plenty of bedrooms,” Archie says flatly. “Take your pick.”

Valerie gets to her feet, leading the way, and Melody is quick to follow. The others slowly do the same in awkward silence.

Cheryl is the last to leave, other than Archie and Betty herself.

“I did you guys a favour, you know,” Cheryl tells them. “You may not see it now, but you’ll thank me later.”

“Get lost, Cheryl,” Archie tells her, and Betty would have put more swear words in, but she agrees with his sentiment. Cheryl shrugs and flips her long red hair as she turns and heads upstairs, presumably to Veronica’s room.

“Betty…” Archie starts, once they’re alone.

“We should probably get to bed,” Betty says quickly. Archie nods. “Night, Arch.”

“Night, Betty.”

Betty feels sick to her stomach as she climbs the stairs. She hates that she hurt Jughead, and she hates that she hurt Veronica. But another part of her wonders if they have any right to be mad anyway, and there’s a tug of annoyance at both of them. After all, hadn’t they both done the same thing to her?

Veronica in that closet with Archie. And Jughead had confessed he hooked up with Toni in their brief break up when the Black Hood was messing with her.

Doesn’t she get the same forgiveness she gave them?

Betty pushes open the first bedroom door she comes to, hoping to find Kevin. Instead she finds Josie and Reggie making out. She quickly closes the door. At least someone’s having a good time.

The next door she tries is, thankfully, Kevin’s.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” she asks pathetically. Kevin nods sympathetically and pats the bed next to him. Betty crawls in beside him and promptly bursts into tears.

“Are you crying because you hurt your friends, or because you still want Archie?” Kevin asks softly as he holds her close and rubs her back gently. Betty doesn’t answer right away.

“Can it be both?” she eventually whispers.

“Yeah,” Kevin says, kissing the top of her head. And damn it if she doesn’t wish it were Archie.

-

Betty wakes up a few hours later, her throat dry and sore from sobbing herself to sleep. She carefully slips out of bed, trying not to wake Kevin, and pads downstairs to the kitchen. The house is dark and silent, and she doesn’t bother switching on any lights, instead feeling her way through the darkness.

The moon shines through the kitchen window, allowing her enough illumination to find a glass and fill it with tap water. She brings the glass to her lips and gulps it down, the cool liquid bringing instant relief.

“Hey,” whispers a groggy voice.

Betty almost drops the glass.

“Jesus, Arch. You scared me half to death.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you sleeping down here?”

“I wasn’t sure there’d be enough beds,” he shrugs. He’s partly lit by the moonlight streaming through the window, his white chest practically glowing. Betty looks away, blushing.

“Are you okay?” he asks her. Betty nods, though she knows Archie knows she’s not. “Me too,” Archie lies.

“They’ll get over it,” Betty says, setting her glass down on the bench. Archie takes a few steps closer and leans on the counter next to her.

There’s something surreal about standing next to Archie in a foreign kitchen, in the middle of the night, in near darkness. It’s like the rest of the world has ceased to exist, just for time being, and it’s just the two of them. Perhaps that’s a little how she felt in the car that night. Although this situation is considerably more peaceful. She wishes it could be like this always.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you. This is all my fault.”

“Betty, I kissed you back.”

“You were just being polite.”

“I wasn’t. It was a good kiss.”

“It was just a kiss,” Betty repeats. Maybe if she says it enough it will be true.

Archie doesn’t speak for a moment.

“What if it wasn’t?” he finally says, his voice a little husky, sending a shiver down Betty’s spine. She swallows. It’s too much. It was one thing when it was all her, her one-sided feelings could be squashed, she could pretend she didn’t want him so much. But if he’s saying what she thinks he’s saying…

“Betty…” The sound of her name on his lips is torture.

“It has to be,” she cuts him off. “You saw how hurt they were when it was just a kiss. If they knew how we really felt…” she trails off.

“They know, Betty,” Archie insists. He doesn’t deny that he feels the same. “Of course they know. Why do you think they were so mad? Why do you think they didn’t want you to do Cheryl’s dare? They know it’s meant to be you and me.”

“God, Archie,” Betty says. She’s tearing up again. “Why couldn’t you have just wanted me six months ago?”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Even if we break up with Jughead and Veronica tonight, we can’t actually _be_ together.”

“Why not?”

“It would kill Jughead. It would probably kill Veronica. I can’t do that to them,” Betty shakes her head. Archie falls silent.

“You’re right,” he sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

She brushes her arm against his, an act meant to comfort him, and also comfort herself.

“We should get back to bed. I think there’s a spare bedroom, you don’t have to sleep on the couch,” Betty says. Archie shrugs.

“I’m okay down here,” he insists. Betty leaves her spot against the counter to stand in front of Archie, so close she can practically feel his heart beating. Archie watches her cautiously, licking his lips.

“Cheryl’s not around, is she?” Betty asks. Archie shakes his head.

Betty tilts her head up, closing her eyes as she leans in, closing the distance between their lips. It’s soft and sweet, and she pulls away before he has a chance to kiss her back. He keeps his eyes shut for a few moments afterwards, like he’s savouring the moment.

“Happy birthday, Archie,” Betty whispers, and then she turns and leaves him standing alone in the dark.


End file.
